In Metaphysical Poetry, there is an emphasis on religious
experience, which often touches on diverse kinds of turning.
Among them are religious conversion (a turn to God), spatial
movement (turning in space), divine transformation (turning
from one kind into another), musical tuning (turning as a
requisite for harmony) and circular turning. Moreover, there
is a strong link between turning and its realisation through
the language of the poems. Focussing on John Donne and
George Herbert, this study explores various aspects of
turning, as well as their interrelation.

Carmen Dörge works at the SFB 833 located at
the Eberhard Karls Universität Tübingen, Germany.